This invention generally relates to data transmission networks and, more particularly, to transmitting data between a client computer and a server computer.
The World Wide Web is a collection of server computers connected to the Internet that utilize the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (xe2x80x9cHTTPxe2x80x9d). HTTP is a known application protocol that provides users with access to documents (e.g., web pages) written in a standard mark-up page description language-known as Hypertext Markup Language (xe2x80x9cHTMLxe2x80x9d). HTTP is used to transmit HTML web pages between a remote computer (e.g., a server) and a local computer in a form that is understandable to browser software (e.g., Netscape Navigator(trademark), available from Netscape Communications Corporation of Mountain View, Calif.) executing on the local computer. A local computer (xe2x80x9cclient computerxe2x80x9d) xe2x80x9caccessesxe2x80x9d a web page by downloading the HTML code that makes up the web page. Once downloaded, the browser software interprets the HTML within the page, and displays a graphical representation of the page (defined by the HTML code) upon a client-side display device.
Like most software, browser software and server software typically are tested prior to distribution. Currently, browser and server software often are tested by manually downloading many web pages onto a client computer in a repetitive fashion. It is not uncommon for a single page to be downloaded several hundred times for such testing purposes. In a similar manner, computer graphical subsystems (e.g., the INTENSE 3D(copyright) graphics accelerator, available from Intergraph Corporation of Huntsville, Ala.) commonly are tested by manually and repetitively downloading graphics intensive web pages. Both testing processes require that a person manually download each of the required pages, however, thus increasing the ultimate cost of the product being tested.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, an apparatus for transmitting a set of documents from a server computer to a client computer utilizes a document list of document identifiers for automatically and repetitively transmitting selected documents from the server computer to the client computer. To that end, the apparatus first receives a first download request from the client computer. Once the request is received, then the document list is accessed to identify the identifier of a first document in the document list. Once identified, the first document and a controller are transmitted to the client computer. The controller controls the client computer to transmit a second download request to the server computer after a predetermined condition is satisfied. In some embodiments, the predetermined condition is the passing of a predetermined amount of time and the controller is a tag within the first document.
In accordance with other aspects of the invention, in response to receipt of the second download request, the server again accesses the document list to identify the identifier of a second document in the document list. Once identified, the second document is transmitted to the client computer. In preferred embodiments, the document list is stored in memory of the server computer, and includes a plurality of sublists that are directed to documents having at least one preselected attribute (e.g., the existence of graphical images in the document). In additional embodiments, an information displayer also is transmitted to the client computer after the identifier of the first document is identified. The information displayer controls the client computer to display information relating to each of the documents received by the client computer.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the document is a World Wide Web page and the server is a World Wide Web server. In such case, the identifier is a uniform resource locator.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, an apparatus and method of transmitting a set of documents from a server to a client computer utilizes a selector that, in response to receipt of a download request message, selects one of the set of documents based upon information not in the download request. For example, the download request message may include a request to download the selector itself, or it may be a message that merely requests that the selector provide transmit any document (i.e., one of the documents in the set of documents). Accordingly, in preferred embodiments, the download message includes no address information identifying the selected document to be transmitted.
In still other aspects of the invention, the apparatus is a computer program product for use on a computer system. The computer program product includes a computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon.